Dolceacqua is a suggestive jewel perched on the hills of the Riviera di Ponente. Located between Bordighera and a few steps from the French border is a small medieval village in the Val di Nervia. It looks like it came out of a fairy tale with its romantic bridge, which connects the old part of the town, which the inhabitants call “land”, to the new one, called the “village”. Behind stand the two towers of the Doria Castle dating back to the twelfth century.

Dolceacqua has a name that fully reflects this place where it seems to live an eternal spring. Venturing in its cobbled streets, the carruggi, you can find craft shops and typical trattorias that offer excellent traditional dishes based on local products, such as michetta, a very tasty local dessert. For a few years the town has been awarded with the Orange Flag, a prestigious tourist and environmental quality mark assigned by the Italian Touring Club.

The Ponte Vecchio is the true symbol of the borgo: a Romanesque style structure formed by a single round arch of about 32 meters of span dating back to around 1,400. Claude Monet, who’s been in Dolceacqua twice with Renoir, immortalized his famous bridge calling it “a real jewel of lightness”.

The Castle dominates the valley from above and offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding nature. There are those who claim to have seen the ghost of Lucrezia, a young woman punished to death by the prince, wandering on its towers. The town holds other interesting historic buildings to discover, such as the 15th century parish of Sant’Antonio Abate and the Church of San Giorgio which contains Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles.

However, it is the atmosphere that you breathe walking through the dreamy alleys, the colorful doors and the fairytale mood that make Dolceacqua a magical place.